How do I stop pop-up ads?

A reader is having a phone issue:

“Suddenly, a few weeks ago, I started getting pop up ads for various google play apps. When I answer my phone, start to text, use messenger, an add pops up and gives a countdown until I can delete it. Really annoying and frustrating. Where did these pop ups come from and is there some setting I can change on my phone to stop them?”

phone-puzzled

Sounds like you’ve accidentally installed some adware on your phone.  Check your installed apps and see if there’s something there you don’t remember authorizing. Or, even if you recognize all the apps, did the problem start about the time you intentionally installed something?

Uninstall anything that looks suspicious. Do you have a third-party security app installed on your phone?  It’s a good idea to have malware and virus protection for your phone. If you look in the Google Play store under Security, you’ll find a variety of both free and paid apps. I know that my Norton installation on my PC also comes with a license to install their app on my phone. Run scans with your security software to see if it detects anything.

If that doesn’t help, you can resort to factory resetting your phone. Make sure you back up any photos or documents before taking that step. You’ll have to redownload apps, music, and contacts after the reset, but it should remove any malware that’s causing you problems.

One thought on “How do I stop pop-up ads?

  1. Hi Cyn, could you go over how to move our iphone photos to the computer? I forgot how to do it. Thanks, Trish

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